Welcome to Urban Moorings

Creating Canal Communities

Creating Moorings for People

Flexible moorings for any use, live work and play

Creating Community Spaces Near the Canal

For boater, walkers, cannoeists and many others

Who Are We

Urban Moorings CIC are a group of boaters who have lived and worked on the canals of the UK for many years. Working with the aim of wanting to create mooring sites that boaters actually want, integrating ecology, history, art and volunteering.

Slow Regeneration

We came up with a unique concept based on the idea of 'Slow Regeneration' which allows us to develop moorings without having to spend millions of pounds and digging big soul less holes filled with water tagged onto the canal.

Follow Our Journey

Here is our Journey on how we plan to turn derelict and unprofitable pieces of land that CRT own into self managed boater run moorings.

As you can see, we have an unseemly amount of bricks and rubble to remove from the site we wish to use for boat services. We are using as much of it as we can to back-fill the moorings to stop any further erosion of the banks.

Had a visit from Catherine, one of our volunteers and supporters. She came bearing gifts ---- a load of timber that she has rescued ( with permission ) from the skip where she works. We will make good use of it as we are starting to plan the green house at the front.

Thanks to the big BCN clean up who paid us a visit today and took a load of scrap/rubbish. Every year the IWA, WRG and BCN society organise workboats and invite volunteers to help them remove rubbish from the canal.

Well after months and months of producing reports after reports, concept drawings showing how we going to build the mooring. Risk assessments, Method statements and insurance. We produced a report 18 pages long!!! Anyway we have finally got permission to build the walkway and moorings.

So just over a year ago we all arrived at our patch. Had to moor about 4 foot away from the collapsed and eroded bank, tie up to buddleia stumps then hack our way in. After which we had to remove various bits of junk from the arm so that at least one of our boats could moor in the arm even if it was tied onto trees.

More...

Well this past month has seen Christmas come and go and a new year begin. HAPPY 2017 TO EVERYONE. We had a lovely time and enjoyed our celebratory meal in a shed, yes no joking, it was in a shed. Table laid, shed tastefully decorated and we had music too. Coffee made by using the small camping stove. Even went posh with After Eight mints!!

Well one month ago we all arrived here at Urban Moorings and what a day that was!! Had to remove a supermarket delivery trolley and a couple of chairs and assorted detritus from the arm just to get two of the boats in and moored up.

Paul Howland

Alison Tuck

Louise Moore

Jennie Howland

Donate to The Project

Anything you can donate towards the project would be gratefully received. We can use the money to buy seed for the garden, food for the wildlife, cups of tea for volunteers, and materials to restore the historic buildings.

"Living on the canal provides a set of challenges that many on land have never experienced; self sufficiency being at the forefront. It gives us a unique way of looking at the world and our surroundings. Generating power, getting water, emptying toilets, rubbish disposal, somewhere to moor access to shops, breakdowns: These are all day to day problems which have to be overcome. Forward thinking, creativity and planning are essential."

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Urban moorings wants to share this with land based dwellers

Building Moorings

We want to create moorings that are unique and offer flexibility to boat owners

Preserving Canal History

We want the history of the industrial Canal system to be available to see and be used by everyone.

Slow Regeneration

We want the site to evolve and develop overtime making it a flexible space that grows with need.